Co-op Group sees worst results in its 150-year history with £2.5bn loss

The group said most of the losses stemmed from the Co-operative Bank, which amounted to £2.1bn. That included a trading loss of £1.44bn for the year to December, when the group lost control of Co-op Bank to US hedge funds.

The losses were not unexpected as the group reported pre-tax losses of £709m in its half year results. Only last week, the Co-op Bank reported pre-tax losses of £1.3bn for 2013 and said it did not expect to make a profit in 2014 or 2015

Chief executive Richard Pennycook said:

"These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are.

"The scale of this disaster will rightly shock our members, our customers and our colleagues,"